Crisis Of Faith
by TJ6
Summary: "What has He ever done for me?"  "Clare you can't throw away your beliefs just because your parents are getting a divorce." One-shot
1. Chapter 1

**CRISIS OF FAITH**

Eli watched in concern as the red headed sophomore in front of him ripped off the crucifix she always wore around her neck and threw it across the school's parking lot. "Clare… What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" She screeched turning to face him, her short red hair momentarily obstructing him from seeing her clear blue eyes. "What is He doing?" she pointed in the direction of her abandoned cross "What good has He _ever_ done for me?"

"Clare." Eli stepped forward from where he was leaning against Morty. He laid a hand on her arm, which she promptly shrugged off. "You can't just give up on your beliefs because your parents are getting a divorce."

"A divorce… You think this is all because of my parent's stupid divorce?"

"Well-"

"It's pretty screwed up for _God _to have my dad cheat on my mom with his freaking 21 year old secretary like some cliché teen movie, and how about how He let Darcy get raped? Her virginity was the single most important thing she had… What was he doing when my boyfriend was stolen by a slutty blonde cheerleader pretending to be my friend? How are any of those things benevolent?"

"Bad things happen to good people?" Eli offered lamely as he wrapped his arms around her.

"And the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and Rome wasn't built in a day," Clare retorted, laying her head against his chest, "I'm not looking for platitudes Eli." He tightened his hold on the distraught fifteen year old girl and ran a hand through her hair. "I just want… I want to know why. I've never done anything stupid or wreckless, I listen to my parents, I go to church every week, I never swear, and I _never_ do anything fun…"

"Ouch," he smirked, trying to lighten the mood "are you calling me un-fun?"

Clare smiled against her will and leaned back in his arms slightly so she could look him in the eye "I've never done you."

Eli's eyebrows flew up in shock at her bold statement "No. No you haven't."

Suddenly she shifted onto her tip toes and planted a kiss on his lips. Eli let go of her, momentarily stunned, but he regained his senses quickly and deepened the kiss. Clare moaned and locked her arms behind his neck. Eli buried his hands in her silken red hair. When they both needed air Eli drew back and rested his forehead on hers.

"Let's do it." Clare said, pecking his lips briefly.

"Do what?"

"It." Clare repeated "Sex. Let's have sex. Right now."

The junior quirked an eyebrow, as he tended to do, "We're in the school parking lot."

Clare mimicked his action and lifted one of her own brows. "So?"

He closed his eyes "Clare, we can't."

"Yes we can."

He shook his head and backed away from her "We can't. You have a purity ring for fuck's sake."

Clare angrily twisted the ring off her finger and threw it in the same direction as her necklace. "There. No more ring. Let's do this."

Eli smiled softly and pulled her to his chest "No." Then he held Clare at arm's length and walked away.

"What?" Clare threw her hands up in the air and kicked at the ground. "Seriously, Eli, I thought teenaged boys were supposed to be raging hormones who only think about sex."

The dark haired boy started walking back towards her and smirked when he heard her assessment "We are."

"So?" she asked "What's the deal?"

"The deal," he answered as he dropped both her necklace and her ring into her hands "is that you're not you right now. You're mad and that's okay. You're having a small crisis of faith and that's okay too."

She sighed and put her necklace back on "The point?"

"The point is when we have sex, and we will," she blushed and ducked her head, he smirked _again _"you will be 100 percent Clare, all will be right with your world and you will be begging for this."

She laughed as he gestured to himself "Begging? Really?"

Eli smiled when she punched his shoulder lightly. Then he pulled her against his side and kissed her temple "There's my Clare." He murmured into her hair.

The red head wove her fingers through her boyfriend's and looked up at him through her lashes. "Thank you."

He opened the car door and leaned against it while he watched her settle into the passenger seat. "For you? The world."

Clare rolled her eyes "Cheesy."

"You love it."

"Temporary insanity?"

"You wish." Eli scoffed as he got into the driver's seat. "You want me."

"Only for your modesty and humbleness." She deadpanned.

"You mean there's more to me than my awesome hair and dreamy smile?" Clare snorted and Eli grinned as he watched her from the corner of his eye.

When Clare smiled at him again his grin widened into a full blown smile. It seemed her little crisis of faith was over. His Clare was back.


	2. Chapter 2

_Mentions of Eclare in this chapter, but none of the actual good stuff... I might be convinced to turn this into a 3, maybe 4, shot if I get a good response. Much love._

**CRISIS OF FAITH**

**Part Two**

"Hello? Anybody home?"

Clare looked up when she thought she heard a voice. Taking off the noise cancelling headphones her boyfriend had given her she listened carefully.

"Hello?"

A smile stretched across Clare's face when she heard the voice clearly. Throwing the headphones onto her desk –gently, they were Eli's after all- she hopped up from her desk and ran into the hall. "Darcy?"

"Clare!"

Squealing the sisters flew into each other's arms. "I can't believe you're here! What are you doing here?"

"I'm home." Darcy grinned, gesturing to the two giant suitcases at the top of the stairs.

"Like _home_ home?" Darcy nodded. "But what about Kenya?"

Darcy shrugged, a serious look on her face, "The school's built and while it's not necessarily done… I got your last e-mail and thought you needed me more."

Clare felt tears well up in her eyes and hugged her sister again. "I do."

"Where're mom and dad?"

Clare sighed "Mom's gone for a few days with some church function and dad…" she shrugged "I don't see him much anymore."

Darcy stared into Clare's newly unobstructed eyes "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

The sisters stared at each other in silence, until they both heard the sound of a car pulling into their driveway. "Maybe that's dad." Darcy guessed.

"Darce," Clare said pleadingly, "let's go get something to eat. We can go to The Dot; you can see all the renovations-"

"But-" the brunette looked back at Clare from where she stood at the window, "Who's the chick getting out of dad's car?"

Clare closed her eyes "Blonde?" Darcy nodded "That's dad's secretary, Mandy."

It didn't take long for Darcy to catch on "Seriously? He brings her here?"

"Sometimes." Clare responded grabbing her backpack "When he thinks no one's gonna be here."

"You're here."

The red head blushed slightly "I'm supposed to meet a friend in, like, 20 minutes."

Darcy raised a questioning brow when her sister blushed. "A boy?" That's when Darcy noticed "Clare Edwards! You're not wearing your purity ring."

Clare was about to respond when they heard the front door open and _Mandy_ giggling. "Can we talk about this on the way to The Dot?"

"Sure," Darcy smirked "we'll take dad's car."

Clare followed her sister down the stairs, trying not to let the satisfaction Darcy's plan gave her show. "Darcy…"

"Hi dad." Darcy greeted, ignoring her sister completely.

"Darcy?"

"In the flesh." The brunette let the sarcasm soak her words.

"You're home…"

"And you're as observant as ever. Can I borrow your car? Clare and I are going out."

"But-"

"Who is this girl, Randy?" the blonde asked, twirling a long dyed lock of hair around her finger.

Clare rolled her eyes and Darcy snorted in disbelief "Well, let's see, I just called him _dad_…" Mandy stared at her uncomprehendingly and Darcy shook her head. The 19 year old glared into her father's eyes "She's a real winner, pop. Keys?"

Randal Edwards sighed and placed the car keys into his daughter's waiting hand. "Be back by-"

"We'll be back when we're ready. I hope _mom_ doesn't come home while your car's gone."

She didn't wait for her father's reaction and dragged her younger sister from the house. "Darcy, mom's not going to be home for like 2 days."

Darcy shrugged as she started the car. "I'm sure dad doesn't know that, and I really want that blonde slut to have to walk home." Clare reached up to touch the silver cross that always hung around her neck, drawing her sister's attention to her hands once again. "So," the brunette said "the ring thing. Spill."

Clare looked down at the ring finger that used to be the home of her purity ring, which now sported a slightly ostentatious silver skull, and smiled. "I-"

"Have you had sex?"

"Would you think I was a bad Christian if I had?"

Darcy looked over at her sister as she stopped at a red light. "Of course not Clare. If there's one thing I've learned it's that sex isn't the end or the beginning of faith."

"But Darce, our circumstances are kind of _different_…"

"You mean the fact that you have a choice?"

"Yeah." The red head said softly as she unconsciously spun the skull ring on her finger.

"Clare…" Darcy trailed off as she pulled into The Dot's parking lot. "I'm sorry, but why is there a _hearse_ at The Dot?"

"His name is Morty." Clare smiled.

"Who?" Darcy wrinkled her nose "Eww, Clare, you're sleeping with a guy named Morty?"

"The _hearse's_ name is Morty."

Darcy quirked an eyebrow, "Clever."

"I'm contemplating sleeping with the guy that drives Morty."

Darcy's eyebrow rose further "Really?"

Clare nodded and turned to her sister "I told him I wanted to have sex with him and he told me we were going to wait until my 'crisis of faith' was over."

"And is it?"

Clare looked down at the ring on her finger and back up at Morty, a smile spreading across her face. "I think it is. I think- it wasn't God I lost my faith in, just... dad."

"There's good guys out there Clare."

"I know."

"So you should get out and meet your Morty driving, skull wearing, good guy."

"Come in."

"I wouldn't want to intrude on your date; especially one that could end up with sex in the back of a hearse."

Clare scoffed "I may have revised my policy on sex before marriage, but I haven't revised my policy on sex in the back of a car."

Darcy laughed "Go meet up with your _boyfriend_."

Clare blushed "You should come in Darce. There's a good guy in there for you too."

"Peter's in there?"

Clare nodded "Are you over your issues with men?"

Darcy smiled slightly "I think I am."

"So we've both restored our faith?" Darcy nodded. "Then let's go get our men."


	3. Chapter 3

**Crisis of Faith**

**Part Three**

"So," Darcy said as she and her sister stepped into The Dot "this is the new Dot, eh?"

"This is it." Clare agreed.

"It's nice." The brunette suddenly turned to smirk at her sister "Where's your man? And when on God's green earth did Holly J start sucking face with _Sav_?"

The younger Edwards sister grimaced as she spotted the two teens in question. Holly J was sitting sideways across Sav's lap, her right arm hooked behind his neck while her left hand toyed with his hair. "They used to be a bit more subtle, but they finally told Anya they were together and voila."

"Huh. And your man?"

Clare blushed as she pointed to the table where Eli sat with Adam, Drew, and Alli. "He's-"

"The one in black?" Darcy asked sarcastically.

"How did you-"

"He drives a _hearse_, Clare."

"Right."

Darcy regarded the black clad junior carefully. "I never pictured you with a guy who wears eyeliner." Clare didn't say anything as her sister looked from her boyfriend to her and back again. "He's cute."

The red head smiled slightly "You have no idea."

"How did you meet?"

"He ran over my glasses."

Darcy looked at her sister in surprise "That's it?"

Clare chuckled "No." Her face took on a kind of dreamy quality as she relived her first meeting with her boyfriend. "I had just got my surgery and Alli and I were fighting over my glasses. They flew into the parking lot and this hearse drives over them."

"And then?"

"And then it stopped and Eli got out. He picked them up and handed them to me and said 'I think they're dead'."

"Wow," Darcy deadpanned "A goth kid driving a hearse crushes your glasses and tells you they're dead. How romantic… I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

Clare glared at her sister "I'm not done yet."

"Sorry." Darcy smirked "Continue."

"Anyway, I tell him I don't need them anymore and he says 'You have pretty eyes'."

"Aww."

"I know, right?"

* * *

Eli was talking to Adam, trying hard to ignore Drew and Alli –who were being disgustingly 'in love'- when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Trying to be inconspicuous he glanced around the coffee shop. "Okay, who is Clare standing with and why is she staring at me?"

Adam stopped mid-comic book rant as he, his brother and Alli looked towards The Dot's entrance. "Wow."

Alli let out a little squeal and jumped up from the table, and then she ran towards the two girls as fast as her high heeled feet could take her. "Oh my gosh!"

The three guys tuned out the girls' high pitched squeals and tried to make their own conjectures as to who the brunette was. "I don't know who she is," Drew commented "but she's _hot_."

"Dude," Adam shook his head "you're such a skeeze."

"A skeeze?" Drew questioned. Eli quirked an eyebrow at his best friend, intrigued.

"If you like Alli, like Alli, stop trying to hook up with other girls."

"Checking out is not trying to hook up." Drew defended.

Eli nodded "Look but don't touch, it's a rule or something." Then he saw Drew staring again and kicked him under the table "Don't look too hard though."

"Ow." The quarterback leaned down to rub his shin.

"Alli's a nice girl." Adam said.

Eli nodded "And she's Clare's best friend."

"And it's a bitch to listen to her when you do stupid shit like stare at other girls." Adam continued.

"Fine." Drew said, holding up his hands, "I'm just trying to figure out who the other chick is, okay? Does Clare have a sister or something?"

"Darcy." Eli said, turning in his seat to take a closer look at the brunette "She's supposed to be in Africa though…"

"I guess she's back."

"Who's back?" Holly J asked from the next table over. She and Sav had finally disconnected from each other when Sav had heard his younger sister's squeal. Adam pointed towards the door. "Darcy!"

Sav groped his pocket for his cell phone as soon as the red head jumped off his lap and rushed to the other girls "I gotta call Peter." He muttered, holding the phone to his ear.

"I guess that answers that question." Adam said quietly as the four girls started towards them.

"Hi guys." Clare greeted.

"Hey Blue Eyes." Eli smiled, standing up to give her a brief kiss.

Clare blushed and tucked a stray curl behind her ear as Eli sat back down and pushed a chair out for her. "Guys this is-"

"Darcy." Eli supplied.

Clare nodded, not even questioning how he knew that –he always seemed to just _know_ things "Darce, this is Drew, Adam and Eli."

"Hi." Darcy focused solely on Eli as she sat down.

"I'm just gonna go sit with Sav." Holly J said, sensing something going on.

Adam nodded "We need to go too."

"What-"

"Drew." Adam cut his brother off "We need to go."

"Fine." The older Torres said, cluing in, "Let's go Al, I'll take you home."

"Okay," Alli agreed grudgingly, grabbing her coat and purse "call me later Clare. I want details."

"Sure, Alli."

"Later, dude." Adam said, bumping fists with Eli "See you later Clare. Darcy."

Eli nodded as his friends left. He smiled at Clare and grabbed her hand under the table before locking eyes with Darcy. "So that was pretty obvious."

The brunette snorted and grinned "Not exactly subtle." She agreed.

"So…"

"Dude, you're wearing more eyeliner than me."

Eli smirked, sensing the sarcasm in the older girl's tone "I think we're going to get along fine."

"Treat my sister right and we won't have a problem."

Eli tightened his grip on Clare's hand "We won't have a problem."

"Good."

Clare let out the breath she'd been holding and squeezed Eli's hand in return when Darcy swore under her breath. "Darcy?"

"It's Peter. Oh God, Clare, it's Peter."

"I think that's our hint to leave." Eli announced. Clare nodded.

"No!" Darcy grabbed at her younger sister's hand as she stood up. "Clare! I know I said I was ready, but I'm not. I can't do this. Don't go."

"Darcy." Clare said as Eli slung his arm around her shoulders. "You can do this. Have a little faith."

The brunette watched as her sister walked away, wrapped in her boyfriend's arms, smiling, and breathed in deeply. "I can do this." She told herself "Have a little faith."


End file.
